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S 1246 117th Congress Senate Water Resources Development Alternative and renewable resources Electric power generation and transmission Indian lands and resources rights Washington State Water storage Water use and supply

Pacific Northwest Pumped Storage Hydropower Development Act of 2021

Introduced: April 20, 2021 Introduced by: Cantwell, Maria Democratic · Washington See on congress.gov
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 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Apr 20, 2021
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Apr 20, 2021
Introduced in Senate
 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Pacific Northwest Pumped Storage Hydropower Development Act of 2021

This bill provides the Department of the Interior exclusive authority to develop hydropower facilities in certain instances and contains other related provisions.

Specifically, Interior shall have exclusive authority to develop small conduit hydropower using Bureau of Reclamation facilities and pumped storage hydropower that exclusively use bureau reservoirs. Currently, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) also has regulatory authority over some of the bureau infrastructure involved in such projects, so some projects require approval from both Interior and FERC.

The bill also imposes various requirements related to certain proposed projects involving specified tribes in Washington State. Before Interior may issue a lease to use power generated from such a project, the parties involved must agree to a study plan that lays out certain information, time lines, and procedures for addressing issues. Such a lease must also meet certain requirements, such as conditions to ensure that the project will not interfere with the tribes' hunting and fishing rights.

What's happening now April 20, 2021

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1